Soul Sister Time

              I’ve just concluded a study of Peter’s first letter to the church.  He wrote it from Rome to churches that were facing persecution in Turkey and southern Asia.  I have Christian friends in those same places, and many of them are dealing with degrees of persecution because they are Christians. Their faith in Christ puts them at greater risk than people who profess faith in Islam or other religions in those regions.  I was reading it as if Peter were writing to my friends today, and I found it contained so much encouragement and spiritual direction for them and for me.               I especially liked the way Paul closed his letter.  Formerly he thought Christ only came to save Jewish people, but it was revealed to him early on that Jesus came for Jews first and then for the whole world.  In his concluding remarks Pet...

           My word for the year is prayer .  At the end of 2015 I took some time to reflect and pray and ask God for a spiritual focus for 2016.  I can’t remember how, but the verse God led me to was Luke 2:37… she never left the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying .  I have been doing a lot of praying this year, but I haven’t fasted except during Lent.  I usually fast when there is something really important coming up.  I do have a concern regarding a major decision that I am powerless over, so I thought I would gear up my prayer with fasting once a week.  I don’t see fasting as a way to make God more inclined to do what I want Him to do.  Rather, I see it as a way to remind myself of how dependent I am on God’s grace and through my tangible efforts.  Fasting is a spiritual discipline that reminds me that the best I can do is entrust my concerns to His care.  When I go without food as a re...